Mont Alto centennial plans are underway

Celebrating 100 years as a borough is a very important milestone for the small town of Mont Alto, and its residents are inviting everyone to three days of events to help make it a memorable occasion.

The community has banded together to plan the events that will kick off Friday, July 12, at the Richard K. Sleicher Events Complex, an arm of the Mont Alto Volunteer Fire Department.

“The Mont Alto fire company has been very generous with facilities,” said Charlie Kauffman, a member of the centennial committee. “The Borough of Mont Alto is very supportive of what we are doing, and the fire company’s ladies auxiliary has also been very supportive with funding. There has been tremendous evidence of community support for this. I don’t think anyone who has contributed has really been asked to give a lot. They just came and said, ‘You guys are doing this and you need help. Here we are.’ That gives us a really good feeling.”

Rich history

Historic horse and buggy tours of Mont Alto will begin at the events complex off of Route 997 at 5 p.m. Friday, July 12. According to Beverly Spicer, an organizer who serves on council and with the Mont Alto Historical Society, the tours will travel along the town’s Main Street, up to the Penn State Mont Alto campus and back. Historic homes and other interesting points will be discussed along the way.

“There are a lot of homes that are still standing today that were around when the Mont Alto Iron Works reached its peak,” Kauffman noted. “The community of Mont Alto really owes its existence to cold-blast iron.”

The Mont Alto Iron Works was established by Daniel and Samuel Hughes. The first stack was built there in 1807. In 1864 the iron works was purchased by Holker Hughes, Issac Waterman, Thomas Beaver and George Wiestling. In 1889 a fire destroyed everything and at that time George Wiestling formed a new company and became president and general manager, according to the borough’s website. At one time the Iron Works employed 500 people. In 1872 the company with its own men built a 10 1/2 mile railroad from Mont Alto to a point on the Cumberland Valley Railroad three and a half miles from Chambersburg. In 1893, the Iron Works was dismantled and sold to the Pennsylvania State Forestry Commission. It became the State Forestry School in 1903, and it is now the Penn State Mont Alto Campus.

The lineup

A grand opening ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. that evening at the complex, complete with borough council and local dignitaries.

An old-fashioned block party with free games and food for sale will be held at the events complex from 6:30 to 10 p.m. The night will be capped off with a shirttail parade of firefighters from Walnut Street, to Reynolds Avenue and back to the complex. A portion of Reynolds Avenue will be shut down during the parade.

“The firemen spray people with water during a shirttail parade,” laughed Spicer. “It is definitely not a place for small children.”

The next day’s celebration begins at 7 a.m. with a breakfast in the fire hall. Tickets will be sold, but a price hasn’t been finalized yet. The breakfast will run until 10 a.m.

From 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, historic trolley tours will be given in town, and a commemorative stamp will be available to visitors at borough hall. Kauffman said there will only be 200 stamps given, and they will be “real collector’s items.”

At 2 p.m. Saturday, a “knock-down, drag-out parade” will start at the Penn State campus and end at the fire hall. Some roads will be shut down for the parade, and the borough is working to receive approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.A community birthday party complete with cake, ice cream and entertainment will commence at the events complex at 6 p.m. Saturday.

“The birthday party is just to let people know that Mont Alto may be a small place, but it’s a friendly place,” Kauffman added. “Come out and help us celebrate our incorporation.”

The final day of events starts at 10 a.m. Sunday, July 14, with a non-denominational church service at Mont Alto State Park. A free community picnic with hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, potato salad and drinks will begin at 11:30 a.m. in the park off of Route 233, up from the Penn State Mont Alto campus.

The celebration will end with the burying of a time capsule near the Christmas tree in the square. The items to be included have not been selected yet.

Fundraising

Centennial T-shirts for $12 to $14, coffee mugs for $5, cookbooks for $10 and souvenir Christmas ornaments for $10 are for sale in Mont Alto Borough Hall to help pay for the events, including advertising. A centennial booklet detailing the history of Mont Alto, the centennial schedule and event sponsors also will be for sale in the near future.

Kauffman said the committee has operated on a shoestring budget for the events.“We aren’t in this for a profit,” he said.

Kauffman added all proceeds will go toward the centennial celebration, and the borough is hoping to promote the events through the Franklin County Visitors Bureau, on websites and on mobile signs at the fire hall.

Kauffman said he has been pleased with the amount of pride that has been invested in the commemoration.

“I have seen a lot of community spirit for this whole thing, and it is not indigenous to the confines of the Borough of Mont Alto,” he added.

Kauffman said volunteers are needed to help with the weekend. Anyone interested in helping should call him at 749-5279, or borough hall at 749-5808.

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